N.S.F. Funding 'Science and Society' Program

The National Science Foundation this month awarded a three-year
$800,000 grant to Pennsylvania State University's Science, Technology,
and Society program to help introduce science and technology issues
into the nation's high schools.

The grant will enable Penn State faculty members to disseminate
information about existing programs and materials--including some
designed for college students--that could help high-school science
teachers to incorporate social and technological issues into their
classes, according to Rustum Roy, chairman of the university's
15-year-old sts program and principal investigator on the grant.

The faculty will also develop new prototype materials with the help
of national science and education groups, secondary-school teachers,
and other university professors, Mr. Roy said.

Part of Broader Effort

The grant is one of 30 or 40 that the National Science Foundation
has approved thus far as part of its $54.7-million precollege education
budget for fiscal 1984, according to Robert F. Watson, deputy director
in the nsf's division of precollege education in science and
mathematics.

The Penn State grant is the only nsf grant so far this year to focus
solely on incorporating technological and social issues into the
science curriculum, Mr. Watson said. It is part of nsf's broader effort
to improve science and mathematics education through the development of
teaching materials and the upgrading of instructors' skills.

"We want to create technologically literate citizens," said Mr.
Roy."The whole of modern U.S. cul-ture is profoundly affected by
science and technology, but 95 percent of the citizens simply cannot
understand the rudiments of the issues."

Away From 'Pure' Science

Most high-school science courses focus on "pure" science with little
reference to technology, according to Mr. Roy. By linking scientific
knowledge to pressing social issues, the sts effort aims to motivate
more students to pursue studies in science, he said.

Science, technology, and society programs might involve the study of
such topics as acid rain, rising medical costs, nuclear power, and
genetic engineering, he said. In the process, students would be
introduced to basic science processes, such as how bases neutralize
acids and the role of DNA in cell formation.

"Only by teaching science and technology in this context can we
truly expect the American public to become interested in and retain the
basic concepts," said Mr. Roy.

Longstanding Concept

The idea of including social issues in the science curricula is not
new, according to researchers. As early as the turn of the century,
educators were concerned that the science curriculum was inappropriate
for students whose education would end after high school, and tried to
expand their studies to include information on public health and
hygiene.

However, in the past 20 years, science classes have largely ignored
the relationship between science and social issues, according to Mr.
Roy and others.

In an official 1982 position paper, the National Science Teachers
Association said the biggest gap in high-school science education was
the failure to focus on issues related to technology and society.

Similarly, the National Science Board's Commission on Precollege
Education in Mathematics, Science, and Technology stated in 1983 that
"there is now a glaring absence of technology education in
American4schools." The commission called on the National Science
Foundation to help develop new curricula in this area.

Paying more attention to the interplay between science and society
"would enhance science for all students, not just those who will be
scientists and engineers," said Bill G. Aldridge, executive director of
the nsta "This type of curriculum will be essential if you're going to
have science for everybody."

Looking for Models

The first step in carrying science and technology issues into the
high-school classroom, Mr. Roy said, will be to determine which
college-level materials can be adapted for use by high-school
students.

The integration of technological issues into the science curriculum
is farther ahead in Britain, where teams of university professors have
spent the last five years developing materials suitable for high-school
and grade-school students, according to Mr. Roy. Bill F. Williams of
Leeds University, a leader of the Science, Technology, and Society
Project in England, will be a consultant to the Penn State project.

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